---
category: U.S. Government
location: Patrick Air Force Base, Cape Canaveral, Florida
start: 1959
summary: The Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) is a unit of the United
  States Air Force responsible for operating and maintaining a global network of sensors
  to detect nuclear explosions.
tags:
- Organization
- Military
- USA
---

The Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) is a unit of the [United States](/places/united-states/) Air Force responsible for operating and maintaining a global network of sensors to detect nuclear explosions. On September 22, 1979, a [VELA Satellite](/concepts/vela-satellite/) digitally relayed its sighting of two distinctive bright flashes of light over the South Indian Ocean to AFTAC headquarters at Patrick Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral, [Florida](/places/florida/). This event was probable evidence of a nuclear explosion.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 20.